


Not Too Old to Die Young

by KAi_Sage



Series: Criminal Minds Bonus Scenes [1]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Angst, But it’s temporary death, One Shot, but also Hope, interepisode drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-04-16 00:52:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14153109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KAi_Sage/pseuds/KAi_Sage
Summary: During Season 2, Episode 15: Revelations, where Reid was kidnapped, covering the commercial gap between Spencer’s “death” and his resuscitation. Angst ensues.





	Not Too Old to Die Young

**Author's Note:**

> I’m a fan of filling in the gaps, and I couldn’t believe they didn’t cover the likely heavily emotional scene where the rest of the team discovers that Reid had “died”, so this haunted me until I wrote it. I haven’t written a lot of fanfiction, so if you have any constructive criticism I’d love to hear it! I may make more of these. Thank you and enjoy! ~KAi

It was the harsh exit of Gideon from the computer room that made the team suspect that something was wrong and as Gideon slammed the bathroom door shut across the hall, the rest of the team abandoned their previous tasks and filed into the room he had just vacated. Anxiety and dread clawed at Morgan’s heart as he hoped desperately that the worst had not happened, but finding himself already thinking that it had. He followed the team in to the room and found Garcia sitting alone in front of the many screens. She was hyperventilating and visibly shaking as she kept her eyes glued to the screens. The team followed her gaze and saw what had caused Gideon to leave and Garcia to be in such as state. Shock spread wordlessly through the team as they stared and Morgan’s heart shattered as he saw his worst fears come true.

“Reid…” Morgan breathed, so much grief clung to that word. Reid’s body was lying motionless on the floor of the cabin.

“What happened?” Hotch asked.

Garcia felt the presence of the team behind her and began trying to explain. “I made a fake virus and… Reid came back on the screens- but Hankel- he was angry and he- he-” her voice was heavy with the threat of tears.” Reid was seizing and gasping and now he’s not moving. Is he breathing? Oh God, I don’t think he’s breathing…” Her words tapered off into sobs as the reality of what she had just witnessed began to set in. Reid was gone. After all of their best efforts to try and save him, it wasn’t enough. Morgan placed his hand on her shoulder, but she could feel that it was shaking.

So much grief and rage was crashing through him he was unaware of how hard his hand was clenching, squeezing Garcia’s shoulder. She reached and took his hand from her shoulder and clasped it in both of her own. They had lost agents before. They lost those six agents in the bomb attack that sent Gideon into retirement. But this was different. This was one of their own. A team member. And he was so damn young.

Morgan found that he can no longer look at the screens. Seeing Reid lying there, unceremoniously, still tied to the chair only reminded him of how slow and painful Reid’s death must have been. Instead he looked to his team, only to find mirrors of himself.

Garcia was a wreck. She cared so much about the agents in the field and constantly worried about them while they were away, and then she had to watch Reid die right in front of her while she couldn’t do a thing, so close yet so far away. Part of Morgan wished he could have seen Reid take his last breaths, just so he could know what exactly happened to him, but part of him was glad he didn’t. Garcia didn’t deserve to see that, though. She needed to see the best in people and in the world, and yet she just watched a friend die. Morgan knew that he would have to help her walk through the trauma of witnessing what she did, that they would both have to be there for each other.

JJ wasn’t faring much better. Her hands were pressed to her mouth as she barely repressed the tears that threatened to fall. Morgan knew what she was thinking. She had already confronted him about it before, wanting to be told that everyone blamed her for splitting up and that she should have had Reid’s back, wanting the guilt she felt to be validated and put into words by someone else. And part of him wanted to tell her just that. That it was her fault that Reid was kidnapped and now it was her fault he was dead. Morgan knew that wasn’t fair, but he couldn’t bring himself to change that feeling. One day, he would tell JJ that he didn’t blame her, when it didn’t feel like a lie.

Emily hadn’t been a part of the team for very long, but she fit in so well everyone connected with her easily and Morgan could already tell that she was a lot like himself: a protector. And if she felt the same way about Reid being like a younger brother that he did, he knew she was hurting just as much as he was. And damn did it hurt so bad.

Hotch, to the untrained eye, looked as stone-faced as ever, but Morgan had known him long enough to see the small signs of sorrow that showed. His hand was brought up to his face and his forehead creased slightly as grief swirled in his eyes. Morgan knew that Hotch felt responsible for the safety of all the team members. He was the chief, after all. And it was Hotch that had sent Reid and JJ to Hankel’s house to interview a witness, not an unsub. He knew that Hotch would take Reid’s loss as a personal failure to the team. 

Reid’s death hit them all hard. Would any of them be the same again?

Suddenly, Hankel reappeared on the screens, slowly approaching Reid’s body. The team watched as he knelt down next to Reid’s still form and hesitantly placed his hands on his chest.

“You stay away from him, you son of a bitch!” Morgan hissed, hoping that his anger would transmit through the camera feed and force the killer to at least let his friend rest in peace.

“Hold up, Morgan,” Prentiss said as she leaned closer to inspect the screen. “Look.”

“Is he…?” JJ questioned incredulously. 

“He’s performing CPR,” Hotch finished. He turned and exited the room, promptly returning with Gideon on his heels. Together they watched anxiously as Tobias attempted to revive their friend. Suddenly, Spencer was gasping, sputtering, coughing, and as he started taking his first breaths the team collectively let out the breath they didn’t know they were holding. Relief flooded them, but it didn’t last long. Reid wasn’t out of the woods yet. But now there was something to hold on to. There was still hope.


End file.
